From the football team to Raider Red, the campus community will help celebrate the holiday.
The Lubbock Juneteenth committee has planned and organized a weekend full of festivities in honor of the federal holiday. The official Juneteenth celebration, or Rise Up Weekend, will have something for the whole family. Rise Up Weekend will begin on Thursday (June 16) and end with a firework celebration on Sunday (June 19).
Texas Tech University community members will be an integral part of the weekend. Raider Red and the Masked Rider will be appearing in the parade, health care providers from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center will be volunteering at the free health fair and the football team will be volunteering for setup.
“Texas Tech is the largest employer in our city,” said Cory Powell, director of Institutional Diversity at Texas Tech, and co-chair of the Lubbock Juneteenth committee. “As such, we have a certain responsibility to help the community celebrate this day. It's not just a Black holiday; it's a holiday that celebrates the human spirit.”
Juneteenth is celebrated as a day of independence in the Black community and represents a celebration of African American history and heritage. For many years, Juneteenth has been largely under-recognized and under-celebrated. The Juneteenth committee hopes to change that in Lubbock with Rise Up Weekend bringing awareness to the holiday.
Rise Up Weekend will begin on Thursday (June 16) with the annual Juneteenth pageant, followed by the annual Juneteenth parade and Freedom Fest on Saturday (June 18). Freedom Fest will include a health fair, offering free health screenings and vaccinations to the community.
Activities on Saturday also include food vendors, a kid zone, giveaways and live music in the park with the Grammy-nominated Don Diego Band. To end Rise Up Weekend, the Freedom Celebration will be held on Sunday (June 19) with live music, food and the H-E-B Fireworks Show.
To find out more on how you can celebrate, volunteer or purchase tickets for Rise Up Weekend, visit the official Lubbock Juneteenth website.
